ARABIC LANGUAGE WEB-SITE AL SAHAT PRESENTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JEDDAH 000356

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

RIYADH, PLEASE PASS TO DHAHRAN; DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP;
PARIS FOR ZEYA; LONDON FOR TSOU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/13/2016
TAGS: KISL PREL PTER SA SOCI
SUBJECT: ARABIC LANGUAGE WEB-SITE AL SAHAT PRESENTS
BIOGRAPHY OF SUSPECT IN SHOOTING AT U.S. CONSULATE GENERAL
JEDDAH

REF: JEDDAH 347


1. (C) SUMMARY. Within hours of the May 12 drive-by
shooting at ConGen Jeddah, the Arabic language web-site Al
Sahat carried a brief biography of the suspect and described
him as a psychopath. By May 14, this web-page had been
amended with additional information on the suspect, including
a reference to a brother arrested for "deviant" activities.
Only a name identified the person posting the information.
There was no indication how he obtained information that was
not carried by the media. By Sunday morning more than five
thousand people had accessed the web-site, but no comments
were left. The web-site did not carry any references to the
attack itself. Several of the CG's contacts discounted the
assertion that the shooter was insane. One contact hinted
that a conservative faction within the Saudi government was
feeding self-serving information to the public through the
web-site. END SUMMARY.

WEB-SITE QUICKLY POSTS BIOGRAPHY OF ACCUSED SHOOTER


2. (U) Within twelve hours of the time when it is alleged a
single person in a passing car fired one or more shots at
ConGen Jeddah, the virulently anti-American and Islamic
fundamentalist Arabic language web-site Al Sahat carried a
posting identifying the individual. The shooting occurred at
about 5:30 P.M. on Friday May 12. In a posting at 5:38 A.M.
the following morning, May 13, a Mohammed Salah posted a
web-page titled: "Photo of the Person Accused of Firing at
the U.S. Consulate in Jeddah." The page contained a
photograph of the suspect's identification card and a
photograph, which also appeared in that morning's edition of
the Saudi Gazette, showing an empty pistol holster laying
amid other belongings in the street after the police had
apprehended the suspect and searched his car.

SUSPECT DESCRIBED AS PSYCHOPATH


3. (U) The posting described the suspect as a psychopath and
offered a brief biography. His full name was given as
Mohammed Abdulrazik Fifi, aged 33 and born in Raghdan. It
further stated that he had received his early education in
Raghdan and went to secondary school in al Baha. He went to
the College of Teachers in al Baha and graduated from the
Arabic Language Department. Fifi is then reported to have
taught at Al Ba'athia School in al Baha until he suffered an
emotional breakdown and was transferred to another school in
the region. Salah then relates that Fifi's condition
worsened, and he was given a sabbatical almost a month ago.

SECOND POSTING DESCRIBES CONNECTION TO DEVIANTS AND DECLINING
MENTAL STATE


4. (U) By Sunday morning, May 14 the same Mohammed Salah had
augmented his remarks with the following information: "The
accused," says Salah, "Mohammed Abdulrazik Al Ghamdy (rather
than Fifi, as in the previous day's posting),is the younger
brother of Saad Abdulrazik Al Ghamdy, one of the deviant
group who was arrested in an internet cafe in Medina earlier."


5. (U) The statement continues: "Meanwhile, the Headmaster
of the school where Mohammed was teaching in al Baha stated
that the accused has lately been tending to isolation. He
was absent from work several times for no given reason. In
the last two months, his case got worse so he notified his
family. Lately, he was given a two months sabbatical till he
gets better. He added that Mohammed was treated like the
rest of the teachers and was doing his job well but he had
very (sic) limited circle of friends."


6. (U) By 11:30 A.M. on May 14, this web-site had registered
more than 5,400 visits, but no comments had been left by
readers. There were no speculations as to motive or
objectives or references to the actual shooting at the
Consulate.

WEB SITE PROVIDED SENSITIVE INFORMATION AND DETAILS


7. (C) COMMENT: There is no information identifying the
writer, Mohammed Salah, other than his name on the
web-posting. He seems to have obtained photographs taken

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either by authorities or the media, and in the case of the
identification card, a photograph that should have been
restricted to the possession of the police. The personal
information contained in this web-page is similar to reports
carried in the English-language papers, with the exception of
the reference to a family member involved in an unidentified
"deviant group arrested in a (Medina) internet cafe." It is
impossible to determine if the writer had a connection with
the family that allowed him to obtain this information, or if
he had contacts among the authorities who furnished him with
these facts. END COMMENT.


8. (C) Several of the CG's of high-level contacts have
commented on this web-site, telling her they are very
skeptical of the assertion that the perpetrator was insane or
unbalanced. One, a prominent consultant, observed that the
people who commit acts such as this one are always described
as insane. He wondered who populated Saudi Arabia's mental
facilities, since so many madmen seem to be loitering around
Palestine Street in Jeddah. Princess Lolowa, sister of the
Saudi Foreign Minister, in a conversation with the CG on May
14 stated that she frequently monitored al Sahat because
conservative interests often employ it to criticize her
efforts to promote women's rights in the Kingdom. She
dismissed the insanity claim and insinuated that conservative
elements within the security services or elsewhere in the
government have determined that this embarrassing incident
should be blamed on the actions of a madman and were making
common cause with the operators of the web-site to promote
their rationale. COMMENT: This event hints at the intrigues
that go on behind the scenes in Saudi Arabia, as various
factions seek to disseminate their interpretation of events
to the public. END COMMENT.
Gfoeller